Pink October in Saitama Prefecture, Japan

The month of October is Pink Ribbon month, for breast cancer awareness. It has been celebrated around the world since the nineties. But here in Japan, I have only personally noticed events for Pink October in the last few years. It was put on my radar when a local temple, Saimyouji Temple in Kawagoe, started lighting the temple up pink in October 2018. They also have pink ribbon hanachozu (water fonts with flowers) and even a pink ribbon market during the month of October. 

A couple of years later, I noticed that Oshi Castle in Gyoda is also lit up pink at night for the month of October. And the following year Menuma Shodenzan also started lighting up their temple pink for the month of October. However, this year, there are several different places lit up pink at night in Saitama Prefecture. 

According to the Saitama Prefecture website, Saitama Kaikan, Saitama Pediatric Medical Center, Kumagaya Station statues and Hiroba, Kawaguchi Medical Center, Furutone Park Bridge (Kasukabe), Sayamashi Station and Toda Central Sogo Hospital are lit up pink nightly for the month of October. In addition, Chichibu Koen Bridge was lit up from the 1st to the 19th of October. Also, the remains of Kisai Castle were also lit up for a few days in the middle of October. Lastly, Saitama Super Arena and Sonic City will be lit up pink on the night of October 31st.